Looking for the best tax expert in Manchester, NH?
NH Tax Advisors provides personal and small business tax services across Manchester, NH and the surrounding towns, with an office a few minutes away in Bedford
Chris Brown, Enrolled Agent
You work with me directly, start to finish.
How we help Manchester individuals and small businesses
NH Tax Advisors is led by Chris Brown, a federally licensed Enrolled Agent who has lived in Manchester for more than 20 years. Most of our clients here are individuals, families, and retirees, W-2 workers, and the self-employed people who keep the city running: nail and hair stylists, contractors and the trades, delivery and rideshare drivers, and other one- and two-person businesses. We handle 1099 and self-employment income, returns for people catching up on back taxes, and the Massachusetts return for the many Manchester residents who commute across the state line.
Chris Brown, Enrolled Agent
You work with me directly, start to finish.
Why Manchester taxpayers choose NH Tax Advisors
When you started working for yourself, nobody sat you down and explained self-employment tax or quarterly estimates. So the first April on your own brings a bill bigger than you planned for, with a self-employment tax stacked on top of the income tax you already expected, and a penalty if the year went by without estimated payments. We set your quarterly estimates so the bill stops being a surprise, find the deductions a Schedule C actually allows, and read the last year or two you filed for anything that was missed.
- Licensed to deal with the IRS on your behalf
- A local office a few minutes away in Bedford, in person or by video
- Accurate returns, updated for the 2026 tax law and every year after
- Back taxes and IRS notices, handled quietly and without judgment
- Self-employed and 1099 returns for the trades, service businesses, and gig and delivery drivers
- Massachusetts cross-border returns done right for Manchester commuters
“I truly cannot say enough good things about my experience with Chris & Maria at NH Tax Advisors! I came to them with a rather daunting & messy self-employed tax situation, needing resolution for some previous years' filings.”
How we work with Manchester individuals and families
Working with us usually begins with a conversation and a look at the last year or two you filed, so we understand the whole picture before we touch this year's return. We prepare your federal and any state returns, then look for the moves that lower next year's bill, whether that is adjusting your withholding or getting your estimated payments right. When it is ready, we walk through the return with you in plain language, so you know what you are signing and why. And you have the same people to call when a question comes up in the fall, not a stranger who has never seen your file.
How we work with Manchester businesses
Most of our business clients are self-employed or run a one- or two-person operation: a hair or nail stylist, a contractor or painter, a house cleaner, a delivery or rideshare driver, a freelancer. We start by learning how the money actually comes in, then go through your prior returns for deductions that were missed or expenses that were misclassified. We prepare your Schedule C, sort out your mileage, home office, phone, and equipment, and set your self-employment tax and quarterly estimates so April is not a shock. If your business ever grows to where New Hampshire's Business Profits Tax or Business Enterprise Tax applies, we will see it coming and tell you before the state does.
How we work with Manchester rental property owners
If you own rental property in or around Manchester, we report the income and expenses correctly and set the depreciation up the way it should be, since that is the piece most often missed on a rental. We separate repairs from improvements, track the passive losses that carry to future years, and handle the setups people ask about most, like renting a two-family unit, a finished basement, or a short-term rental. If the property sits in another state, we file there too and keep the credit straight so the income is not taxed twice. And when we take over a return where depreciation was skipped in earlier years, correcting it can return real money to you.
What we handle for Manchester clients
Whether you searched for the best tax preparer in Manchester, the nearest accountant, a top tax expert, or just someone to fix one specific problem, the work is the same once you are in the door. A few clients come to us because a bookkeeper told them to, which makes sense, since keeping the books and filing the return are two different jobs. Here is what we handle, and who each piece is for.
Self-employed and 1099 income
Schedule C done with a real look at your expenses, mileage and home office included, and the self-employment tax that blindsides most people their first year on their own. We set your quarterly estimates so the next April is not a scramble.
Small business and LLC taxes
Single-member LLCs, sole proprietors, and the shops and contractors around the city, including Section 179 on equipment, 1099-NEC filing for the people you pay, and a SEP-IRA to shelter part of the profit. We flag the New Hampshire Business Profits and Enterprise Tax lines before you cross them.
Massachusetts commuter returns
Live in Manchester and earn a Massachusetts paycheck? Massachusetts taxes only the days you actually worked there, not your whole salary. Getting that day count right is where commuters either quietly overpay for years or finally get money back.
Back taxes and unfiled returns
One missed year or a stack of them. We work out how many you actually have to file, get them done, and head off the substitute return the IRS files for you if you wait. Without the lecture.
IRS notices and payment plans
We read what the notice really says, tell you whether it is even correct, and answer it. If the balance is more than you can pay at once, we set up an installment agreement or check whether First Time Abatement can take the penalties off.
Individual and family tax returns
Your federal return and any state returns that come with it, prepared and then explained before you sign. Most of our clients are back every year, so we already know the story behind the numbers.
Equity comp and investment income
RSUs, stock options, and ESPP shares are misreported more than almost anything we see, because the broker's cost basis usually leaves out what your W-2 already taxed. We reconcile the two so you are not taxed twice on the same stock.
Retirement income and Roth conversions
The first year of retirement is its own puzzle: pensions and 401(k) draws, Social Security, required minimum distributions, and inherited IRAs. On the planning side, we map how much to convert to a Roth before it costs you a bracket or a Medicare surcharge.
Rental property
The Schedule E, rents in and expenses out, with depreciation set up the right way and repairs kept separate from improvements. Passive losses get tracked so they are there when you need them, and a return where depreciation was skipped early on is often worth fixing.
Amended returns
A return that was already filed and came out wrong, whether you did it or someone else did. We find what was missed, amend it, and chase down the refund if one is owed.
What New Hampshire taxes, and what it doesn't
New Hampshire does not tax the wages you earn and has no sales tax, so there is no state return on your paycheck the way there would be almost anywhere else. That is exactly why the Massachusetts side matters so much here, since so many Manchester residents earn their paycheck across the state line. It is also one of the first things that surprises people who move to the Queen City from a state with an income tax.
One older detail matters only if you are catching up on past returns: New Hampshire used to tax interest and dividends on the DP-10, and that tax was repealed starting with 2025. It still applied through 2024, so a back-year filing or an amended 2024 return may carry a small New Hampshire tax on investment income. Anything from 2025 forward, the form no longer exists.
You don't have to be in Manchester to work with us
The Bedford office (just over the river, ZIP 03110) is open by appointment whenever you want to sit down, but most of our Manchester clients never need to. Your documents come to us through a secure portal instead of loose email, we go through the finished return with you by phone or video, and you sign electronically. Someone in the North End, on the West Side, or out toward Hooksett gets the same attention, and the same care with their information, as a client sitting across the desk. We work the same way with clients in Bedford, Goffstown, Hooksett, Auburn, Londonderry, and Litchfield.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose a good tax preparer in Manchester?
Start with the credential. An Enrolled Agent or a CPA can represent you in front of the IRS; a preparer without one has limited standing the day a notice arrives. Ask whether you will still be able to reach them after April, because plenty of tax questions show up in the summer and fall. Ask whether they have done your kind of return before, since a Massachusetts commuter return, a self-employed contractor's first Schedule C, and a few unfiled years are all different work. And be wary of anyone who sets the fee as a cut of your refund or promises a bigger refund than the next person before seeing a single document.
I'm self-employed in Manchester. Do I have to file a New Hampshire business tax return?
Usually no, but it depends on your numbers. New Hampshire's Business Profits Tax only kicks in once your gross business income passes about $109,000, and the Business Enterprise Tax once gross receipts top roughly $298,000 (both for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025, per the NH Department of Revenue Administration). Most one- and two-person businesses are under those lines and file nothing at the state level. But a contractor or a busy shop can cross them in a good year without realizing it, so if you are close, it is worth a quick look before it turns into a letter from the state.
My employer takes Massachusetts tax out of my whole paycheck. Am I overpaying?
Quite possibly. Massachusetts only taxes the income you earned on days you physically worked in the state, but many employers withhold Massachusetts tax on 100% of a commuter's pay. If you work any days from home in Manchester, or travel for part of the job, the days you were not in Massachusetts should come back to you on a non-resident return. We apportion the wages by your actual day count, which is where a lot of Manchester commuters find money they had been handing over for years.
Your office is in Bedford. Do I need to drive there if I live in Manchester?
No, unless you want to. Most of our Manchester clients handle everything by secure portal, phone, and video and never make the drive. If you would rather sit down in person, the Bedford office is a few minutes across the river with easy parking, and we are usually the ones to suggest it when a return is involved enough to walk through together.
I just started working for myself in Manchester. How do quarterly taxes work?
You now owe self-employment tax on top of income tax, and the IRS expects it in four payments across the year instead of all at once in April. We look at what you expect to make, set each quarterly estimate so you are not underpaying or handing over more than you need to, and make sure the deductions that come with working for yourself, mileage, home office, equipment, part of your phone and internet, are actually on the return. If your income jumps around, we adjust the estimates as the year goes rather than guessing in January.
What clients say
Real reviews from real Southern NH clients
“I truly cannot say enough good things about my experience with Chris & Maria at NH Tax Advisors! I came to them with a rather daunting & messy self-employed tax situation, needing resolution for some previous years' filings.”
“We had an unexpected situation this tax season when our original accountant suddenly became ill and had to retire. My husband and I were scrambling to find someone new, especially so close to the deadline.”
“I had a great experience working with Chris Brown. He was incredibly easy to work with and always very reachable. He would respond within minutes or at most a few hours whenever I had a question.”
Talk to your tax professional today
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